New Trailer for Disneynature Film CHIMPANZEE

Time for your daily dose of cute: Disney has released a trailer for its Earth Day 2012 nature documentary Chimpanzee. The distribution wing, Disneynature, has had previous success with Earth Day releases such as Earth in 2007 and Oceans last year. Expect this trailer to run ahead of Disneynature’s African Cats, which opens this Friday, April 22nd. But if you can’t wait that long to watch the antics of a wily young chimp, hit the jump to check it out.

Chimpanzee “follows a family of chimps living in tropical jungles of the Ivory Coast and Uganda.” The teaser trailer introduces us to Oscar, a playful young chimp and his extended family. When that family abandons Oscar, he is left to wander the jungle alone, until one day, when he finds an adoptive parent that raises Oscar as his own. How cute is that?

In all seriousness, I love Disney’s commitment to bringing nature documentaries back to the big screen. Warner Bros.’ March of the Penguins was a huge hit in 2005, but Disneynature has cranked out quality documentaries almost every year since. With the advent of high definition cameras, 3D and IMAX technologies, these pictures can take audiences into exotic locales like never before.

If you can’t wait until 2012 for Chimpanzee, consider going to see African Cats this weekend. Not only will it expose you to some of this world’s most magnificent and endangered creatures, but for every ticket sold, Disney will make a donation to “Save the Savanna.” You can check out the African Cats trailer here.

Here’s the official plot synopsis for Chimpanzee:

Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield co-direct this intimate look at the world of chimpanzees, with Christophe Boesch, head of the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, serving as principal consultant and Alix Tidmarsh as producer. To be shot over three years in the tropical jungles of the Ivory Coast and Uganda, Chimpanzee will help us better understand this exceptionally intelligent species.